10 Key Business Website Redesign Considerations to Help You Meet Your Business Objectives

10 Key Business Website Redesign Considerations to Help You Meet Your Business Objectives

Consider This Before You Start Your Website Redesign

It seems that every second client we talk to these days at the highly caffeinated agency wants a redesign or refresh of their business website. And that makes good sense. A website redesign is usually more time and cost-effective than starting from scratch.But simple redesigning your existing website without planning ahead is not a good idea. If you really want to support your business objectives you must focus on these business website redesign considerations before you get started!

Given 15 minutes to consume content, two-thirds of people would rather read something beautifully designed than something plain. Adobe

In a recent post I wrote about outdated web design elements you should avoid. Maybe you found some on your business website. Or perhaps a website redesign was on your mind already. Maybe you are expanding your business, launching a new product, or simple want an updated look and feel for your online presence. Regardless, there are a number of website redesign considerations you may not be aware of.

Different age groups will react differently to different content, layout, and aesthetic choices. User Testing

To help you get the most out of this project here are a few website redesign considerations to think about. A few are design related, but many deal more with your branding, how you want to update and maintain your website, and how you plan to use your website in the future. To keep it simple we grouped our website redesign considerations into three main sections.

Website Redesign Considerations

Off-Site Considerations

Do you have an awesome domain URL? Are you happy with your website hosting performance? Have you considered different hosting options? Many critical decisions have nothing to do with the coding or design of a website, but instead concern off-site issues which can still impact site security, performance, and ease of maintenance.

1 – Domain Name Changes

Has your business experienced a brand shift? Maybe your target audience has changed? Or a better domain name became available? A website redesign is the best time to alter the domain name for a business website, so consider your options. To make sure that all web traffic is kept, we recommend forwarding the old domain URL to the new one until it expires.

2 – Your Hosting Provider

Whenever you begin a website redesign, always check your current hosting provider. Use this free online tool to test your business website. Assess how well it performs, and where bottlenecks occur. Compare how easy to use and update your site is, and how your hosting plan compares to other options.

If your business has grown substantially, or your website sees spikes in traffic, you may want to consider shifting to dedicated hosting for data security reasons. A redesign is the ideal time to switch hosting providers if necessary, so investigate your options as much as possible.

CMS Considerations

These elements of a business website redesign have less to do with how a website looks and more about how it functions behind the scenes!

4 – Website Usability and Scalability

How many people will be managing or interacting with the backend of the website once the website redesign is complete? Which CMS are easy to use and learn, or might already be known to you and members of your team?

You need to plan for the website’s ease of use at this stage, and either select a content management system that is easy to learn, or plan on spending some time learning how to navigate the back-end or admin dashboard of your redesigned website.

Scalability is another key consideration: if you need to add or update content often, you need to plan. Be sure to select a CMS robust enough to handle more content and higher traffic loads.

5 – Determine Your Content Format

Is your business website going a fashionable online storefront? Or is it a simple food blog? Perhaps you are thinking of a magazine-style website introducing a new product or service? It’s not uncommon during a redesign for business owners and web designers to change the content format of the website.

Different content management systems are better or worse for different content types, so deciding on the content format will give you some direction on which CMS will be best for you.

Design Considerations

Once you have all the above squared away, it’s time to get to the nuts and bolts of your website redesign: how your website will look and feel, how it’s organized, and what functionality it will offer.

6 – Website Redesign Style

Should your website redesign be clean and modern? Should it use a flat design or rich design? Select the design style carefully; it needs to match the brand image you want to present to visitors. When you’re certain of the web design style, you should begin gathering the collateral for that style: graphics and images. You should also begin thinking about the layout of your home page, and any major landing pages.

7 – Website Navigation

Your website’s navigation is one of the key elements that make your website easy or challenging for visitors to use. How is your website content organized? Is all your content easily accessible from the primary navigation menu? How many navigation menus will your site have?

Always sketch out sample sitemaps before you implement them, and anticipate how visitors will want to move between types of content. And for anything more than a simple 4-5 page website we highly recommend developing a content strategy.

8 – Branding

Your business website redesign will turn out better if it follows clear branding and a uniform color scheme. To appear relevant and up-to-date you should consider incorporating the latest design trends. Select your website color palette to match the brand image you want to set up. Clashing colors and designs are likely to drive potential visitors away.

9 – Functionality

What is the point of your business website redesign? What features should you add to increase its visitor-facing functionality? This will depend mainly on your target audience. Mobile friendliness is a definite must. But social login may not be a priority.

To get a better idea survey your clients and consumers. Some A-B testing can give you more insights. Keep in mind that the purpose is to engage your target audience, not to confuse them with overwhelming choices.

10 – Third-Party Integration

The majority of websites rely on third-party integrations to achieve peak effectiveness. From Google Analytics to Mailchimp to social sharing, there are dozens of different integration options, which can add beneficial functionality and insights.

But there’s a fine line between adding third-party integrations that are helpful and engaging for your website visitors, and creating a confusing, disorganized mess. A good rule of thumb is to keep visitor-facing integrations both minimal and relevant.

And keep in mind that third-party integration can cause conflicts with other aspects of your site. We recommend that you proceed with caution, and check carefully for any unintended design or functionality changes.

Considering Website Redesign?

Perhaps you have considered a website redesign for your business website. In that case I hope the above gives you some more insights and ideas. At the very least they should give you the steps to create your own website redesign plan.

Regardless why you are planning a website redesign, it is a major undertaking. It is essential that you plan if you want the redesign to succeed. And depending on your own abilities and availability you may want to consult a professional web designer to guide you through the entire process.

A website redesign, or refresh as many of our clients call it, is just the thing your business needs for the upcoming holiday season. If you start thinking about it now you have plenty of time to start your website redesign, make and test the required updates, and have a business website that is better designed to attract, engage, and convert your potential consumers.

A Few Tips for Making Your Business Website All It Can Be

If you need to get your business website to stand out online you may find these posts from our ESPRESSO Shots Blog helpful as well:

Feel free reach out to us and learn more about our business website design services. Our team can help you decide exactly what type of website and content you really need, and help you with all your website redesign considerations. All you have to do is say hello and introduce yourself. The highly caffeinated team is here to help!

Do you have anything to add to our website redesign considerations? Maybe you have your own example you can share? Please leave your comments below so our audience can benefit as well, and grab our feed so you don’t miss our next post! And help other business owners with their website redesign considerations by sharing this post with them!

Gregor is Co-Founder and CXO at ESPRESSO.digital, a multilingual WordPress web design studio based in Tokyo and Sendai, Japan. With over 20 years of experience in web, UX and information design he directs the information and UX strategy at PixoLabo @ ESPRESSO. As an experienced digital strategist, blockchain designer, and mobile-first web design advocate Gregor frequently consults and mentors startups in Asia and the US, and is an adjunct professor of design and user experience. He lives in Sendai, Japan, with his wife, an award winning designer and photographer, and their two cats Goma and Pixel. When he is not working he enjoys travel, gardening, and sampling new street food.

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